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418 Company in its locomotives, where it has completely taken the place of coal. It is the only fuel used by the Trans-Caucasian railway from Baku to Batoum and Poti, and wherever it has been tried in competition with coal brought from great distances, it has been adopted. I wonder you don't make use of it in America."

Doctor Bronson suggested that probably the reason why liquid fuel had not taken the place of coal in America, was in consequence of the relative prices of the two substances. "In Russia," said he, "coal is dear; in America it is cheap, and our coal-fields are exhaustless. Three hundred thousand tons of coal have been carried annually from England to the Black Sea; it retails there for ten or twelve dollars a ton, which would be an enormous price in America. Now what will your petroleum fuel cost at Batoum?"

"The present price," said his informant, "is twenty-six English shillings (nearly seven dollars) a ton. Weight for weight, it is cheaper than coal; one ton of it will make as much steam as two tons of coal, and thus you see there is an enormous saving in cost of fuel. Then add the saving in wages of stokers, the additional space that can be given to cargo, and the gain in cleanliness, as the liquid fuel makes neither smoke nor cinders.

"The Russian Government is making experiments at Sebastopol with a view to adopting astaki, as petroleum refuse is called, as the fuel for its men-of-war. I predict that as fast as the furnaces can be changed you will see all steamers on the Black Sea burning the new substance instead of the old. Come with me and see how the liquid fuel works."

"He led the way to the engine-room of the steamer," said Frank, in his journal, "and asked the engineer to show us how the machinery was propelled.

"The process is exceedingly simple. Small streams of petroleum are caught by jets of steam and turned into vapor; the vapor burns beneath the boilers and makes the steam, and that is all. The flow of steam and oil is regulated by means of stopcocks, and steam can be made rapidly or slowly as may be desired.

"Our friend told us that a fire of wood, cotton-waste, or some other combustible is used to get up steam at starting. This is done under a small boiler distinct from the main ones, and it supplies steam for the 'pulverizer,' as the petroleum furnace is called.

"When steam is on the main boilers the small one is shut off and the fire beneath it is extinguished. Even this preliminary fire is rendered unnecessary by a newly invented furnace in which a quantity of hydro-carbon gas is kept stored and in readiness. We were told that the action of the